Adventure 8/50 : Our DC trip, part 2

We started the second half of our trip with a visit to Ford's Theatre. After some time in the small museum under the theater, we went upstairs to the auditorium to see a short play presented from the point of view of theater owner John T. Ford and actor Joseph Jefferson who was performing in "Our American Cousin" the night Lincoln was assassinated. The characters played other eye-witnesses and recounted the events leading up to and after the event. I had never thought about the theater owner and what had happened to the theater afterward. (The US Government seized the theater, eventually paying Ford for it, and no plays were performed for 103 years after the assassination.)

What was great, though, was being able to sit in the theater next to a recreation of the state box and see a play from that angle… it somehow made things really tangible.

We then headed over to the mall to visit some Smiithsonian museums, wandering through the Natural History museum…

COELACANTH!!!

And seeing Whistler's "undressed" Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery….

Then we went to the Holocaust Museum … we couldn't get tickets online, but were told we could visit the exhibits on the main floor. We went to the information desk to ask for a map, and the woman there said, "You're in luck! Someone turned in some extra tickets!" and, suddenly we went in.

There's not much to say about the Holocaust Museum that hasn't been written – it's horrible and painful, as is to be expected. For the most part the visitors were quiet and respectful, thankfully. We were behind a small group when we reached the first set of stairs between galleries – walking into the stairwell, seeing natural light, a woman let out a short, sharp, nervous giggle – the sound of a person who has been holding in anxiety in silence and just needed to release a little. But I don't feel she meant any harm; just needed a release.

It was still shocking to re-enter the lobby atrium to see kids wearing MAGA hats. Either they're really horrible people, or they just don't get it.

We left there for a sharp change of scene – taking an Uber to Farmers Fishers Bakers for a late lunch and a pair of tiki drinks:

The drinks were … just okay. The restaurant, though beautiful, had no "tiki" vibe at all. But the two starters we ordered – a Brussels sprout pizza and an order of cheese and artichoke dip – came as HUGE portions, and were delicious. Side note: in general, portions at restaurants in DC were HUGE!!! We had to walk off the food, so strolled along the Potomac to the Jefferson Memorial. Another gorgeous building, but the statue inside isn't as great. And from a certain angle, in a certain light, I swear it looks like the Darth Vader Memorial…

The sun was setting as we walked back toward our 'hood, admiring the cherry blossoms. Again, "peak bloom" hasn't happened yet, but some trees were doing their best!

Thursday we started our day at the Supreme Court. We admired the architecture inside and out.

We got a glimpse of the empty chamber…

Marveled at the spiral staircases…

And yet managed to avoid buying a gavel-shaped pen in the gift shop. In part because the staff were chatting about running shoes and supportive footwear and one of them said, "I just hurt my hip" at the EXACT moment I noticed a funny pencil with two erasers that looked like a gavel and it made me LAUGH OUT LOUD.

The two staffers stopped chatting and stared at me as I looked for Wil so I could hold up the pencil and say, "Look, honey, a pencil that's shaped like a gavel!" But he wasn't there. So I just walked out of the store, embarassed. Awkward.

We braved the pouring rain again and went to the Air & Space Museum where it is CLEAR that poor Pluto has been erased from the signage of the "Planets" exhibit. Not even erased … but covered up.

They're doing a major renovation of the museum, which means that a lot of the galleries are closed. (To our benefit, really: the moon artifacts will be in Seattle for the 50th anniversary!) But there's still a lot of stuff:

Then it was time to go to the Peak Bloom installation at ARTECHOUSE.

Katie, our bartender at Archipelago, told us about the place so we got tickets. And, though flawed, the exhibit was still pretty. It's hard not to fall in love with a massive room covered in interactive projections of flowers!

This artwork was also lovely – the tree bloomed if you made physical contact with others in the room; when Wil and I hugged the flowers went nuts.

These plants chirped at you when you gently touched them:

One downer: we went to the "interactive bar" and had terrible service from the whining bartender. With a total of six people at the bar she complained to the other bartender about being "slammed" for several minutes before she took our order, then complained to someone else before she made our drinks. Of course, she took Wil's order and made his drink first, then after several minutes came back to me and said, "Did you want something?" The drinks were interesting, but just okay flavor-wise. Mine was a ginger-turmeric soda with Pocky sticks and cotton candy garnish...

We were also sad that the iPhone app for the new exhibit hadn't launched, so we couldn't play with any of the interactive pieces. Amusingly, Wil's old phone showed him an old version of the app – everywhere he looked he saw Christmas trees in the augmented reality!

We walked back to the mall and nosed around the National Gallery for a little while since it was still raining.

Then it was time for our timed entrance to the African American Museum. We had checked the museum website that morning and were able to get a pair of tickets for 2:30 – but when we arrived they were letting anyone in – perhaps the storm had kept some visitors home?

I think the collections were interesting, and the building magnificent…

But to be honest, I think the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis was better laid out and therefore had more of an impact on me.

After our long and jam-packed day we went to "our place" … Archipelago … for happy hour drinks and way too much dinner. Behold the pineapple of hospitality!

Friday morning we were slightly at a loose end – we didn't have any plans at all! We started with a quick visit to The Barbie Pond, which I'd read about on Atlas Obscura. Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day!!!

Then back to the National Gallery, where we looked at a lot of modern art….

… and saw even more modern art at the Hirshhorn. I really loved the site-specific pieces, especially Mark Bradford's "Pickett's Charge" installation, inspired by French artist Paul Philippoteaux's 19th-century cyclorama currently displayed at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

Then it was time to get some lunch … and we decided to visit the USDA to eat in their cafeteria. Yeah, it's a weird idea. And it required us to clear security and hand over identification. But in the end, it was funny, the food was better than okay, and there were lots of different vegetarian options.

After lunch we headed to the National Portrait Gallery / Museum of American Art. The highlights? The portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama, both of which had lines to photograph them.

While in the museum an announcement came over the loudspeaker that the National Weather Service had issued a severe storm warning so guests and staff were asked to stay inside the museum until the storm had passed. Apparently there were wind gusts up to 60 mph, and a freak hailstorm! But we just relaxed in the gorgeous Luce Foundation galleries until the skies cleared.

By the time we came out, the sun was shining brightly again, and we walked home wearing our sunglasses.

For our final night out in DC we went to the Showtime, where we sipped "combos" of "Natty Boh" (cheap local beer National Bohemian) and "cheap whiskey" and did some people watching.

DC was interesting – with all the museums, monuments, and governmental offices we had more than enough to do. We left a couple of things undone -- no nighttime tour of the monuments, no visit to the Postal Museum, no run around the mall... But I was still happy to head home on Saturday!

Read about the first half of our DC trip in part 1. 

Adventure 8/50 : Our DC trip, part 1

We had decided last fall to book a trip to Washington DC to see Massive Attack, since they weren't playing a show in Seattle. And because the DC show was on a Wednesday, we decided to go for a whole week and be tourists.

And then the show got postponed due to illness.

But we rallied – and decided to go on the trip anyway – and I'm really glad we did!

We arrived on Saturday evening, dropped off our bags at our AirBnB, and went out for a bit of a wander. We went out in search of bourbon and groceries … the booze was weirdly easy to find, the groceries slightly more challenging. But we picked up a few essentials at our neighborhood bodegas, stopped in at the Boundary Stone for a pint of east-coast cider, and then went back to our apartment for relax since we had a half marathon in the morning!

Sunday morning we ran our half marathon, got some lunch, and then came back for what could best be described as lukewarm showers. Not sure why, but we never had more than a lukewarm shower the whole week. And, nope, no baths either.

After a nap we headed out to keep our legs moving, stopping at ANXO Cider for a quick drink – a Ruth Bader Gin-sburg cocktail for Wil, a flight of women-brewed ciders from local cideries for me.

Then we set out in search of a Trader Joe's or other larger grocery store. This led us to the U Street Neighborhood, which we immediately fell in love with. Though we had somewhat foolishly eaten before going out (Why? Why???), we couldn't resist popping into Archipelago, a tiki bar. Spoiler alert: we went to Archipelago THREE TIMES.

Monday morning we wandered around the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History before heading to the office of our representative, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

Evan, one of her aides, took us on a private tour of the U.S. Capitol Building. It was fun to go "backstage" where the public tours weren't allowed to go. My favorite areas were seeing the statues in the rotunda, especially the "unfinished" suffragettes statue (Lucretia!)…

… the painting of heavenly GW …

… the House chamber – which was much smaller in real life! …

… and, weirdly, the tunnels where our representatives move quickly between their offices and the capitol building.

After our tour, and feeling crazy hungry, we walked over to U Street where we had a massive platter of Ethiopian food, then waddled home to relax. And, hey, it may not have been peak bloom, but the cherry trees in our hood were putting on a good show!

On Tuesday morning we walked back to the mall, starting our day at the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden to kill a little time before going to the National Archives. Declaration of Independence! Constitution! Bill of Rights! Boo-yah.

It was a GORGEOUS day, so instead of heading back into a Smithsonian museum, we decided to go for a long walk. First we walked past the White House and wished someone else lived there…

Then we wandered around the mall looking at the monuments. It was lovely to see the World War II Memorial …

… and especially to spot the little Kilroy.

We made our way past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and eventually to the Lincoln Memorial … probably my favorite building in the District. I was happy to see that most visitors were quiet and respectful … but maybe that's because there wasn't a bunch of schoolkids in MAGA hats sitting around bored.

We walked across the bridge to Virginia – Wil's first time in the state! – to visit Arlington National Cemetery… where, unfortunately, the President of Brazil (the so-called "Trump of the Tropics" for his racist, misogynistic, and homophobic remarks) was visiting, too. But once his motorcade left, we were able to see JFK's grave, the tomb of the unknown soldier, and an official wreath-laying ceremony.

Eventually we made our way out of the cemetery and caught an Uber to Fancy Radish, where we had a little of EVERYTHING on their happy hour bar menu. Fancy Radish is run by the Vedge folks – so good!

But then we walked back to our hood… and had a SECOND DINNER of veggie chili fries at Ben's Chili Bowl…

And then … our second trip to Archipelago, where we met Katie the bartender, drank two more delicious drinks, were loaded down with all the plastic garnishes in the world, admired (but could not possibly eat!) the food, and had a great time before going home.

Thanks, Archipelago! Our treasures after two visits:

Read about the second half of our trip in Part 2!

Adventure 7/50 | Race Report : Washington DC St. Patrick's Recovery Run Half Marathon

As soon as we planned our trip to DC, I looked up local half marathons in the area in support of my 50 States project… and the timing wasn't working for Maryland or Delaware. However, we could run a half marathon in Washington DC. I hadn't been planning on running in DC – hey, 50 states is hard enough without adding in another race! -- but with no new states available, DC it was.

We didn't really know what to expect, but the St. Patrick's Recovery Run Half Marathon was an out and back along the towpath of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal – so I knew it would be flat! We took an Uber over to the starting area, picked up our handsome tech shirts (gender specific!) and our bibs, and then went up the stairs to the canal for the start. The race was in support of the Semper Fi Fund, which "provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to combat wounded, critically ill and catastrophically injured members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families." Representatives from the charity were there before the race and gave a little talk about how they "deliver the resources they need during recovery and transition back to their communities, working to ensure no one is left behind."

Thus inspired, we were given a quick course talk: "You're gonna run 6.55 miles this way, then turn around and run 6.55 miles back." Okay then!

The morning was very very cold, but the sun was shining and we were warm enough once we started moving. The canal had silted up quite a bit, and had cattails growing in it. But the towpath was nice and level, not muddy, and we trotted along with the rest of the runners – some 155 in all.

For much of the race, we ran along a strip of land between the Potomac River and the canal. It was pretty, quiet for most of the run, and the race was totally uneventful. I was feeling stiff an achy, and at the turnaround decided to pretty much walk it back in. As Wil pointed out, "If you're gonna keep doing these, you should probably start training again."

Yeah, I know. It's a big difference from when we ran halfs every other week!

Eventually we crossed the finish line to cheers from the race crew; gulped some ice cold Gatorade, nibbled on some chips, and then headed into Georgetown to wander around, get some lunch, and eventually get an Uber home.

Bishop's Events runs dozens of races in the DC area – and I was impressed with how organized they were and the quality of the shirts and medals. Also, they donate 25% of their profits back to the charity partner associated with each race – bravo, Bishop's Events!

Oh, and, yes ... that's "state 38" ... out of 51!

Swan Stitch-a-Long, part 9

Hi everyone! This three week stretch leads me to a confession -- and a realization. And a decision.

The confession? I haven't done much on my Swans piece; though I did finish the tiny last bit of dark blue background, and worked on the right-hand green border.

That's pretty much it!

And the realization?

I'm a one-project gal.

I had decided in February that I should devote some time to my temperature project piece... even though I really wanted to work on my Swans. So in the evening I would sit down to stitch, look longingly at the Swans piece, feel like I *should* work on the temperature piece, then feel overwhelmed by it. And then, because I wasn't "supposed" to work on my Swans, I would just do something else less productive... which means I did even less stitching overall.

So I have made a new decision. Until I finish the Swans piece -- including making it up into a cushion -- I'm just going to set aside the temperature project. I know it means a lot of catching up, probably in the middle of the summer. However, I think then I'll be able to get in a rhythm of filling in the blocks. For now I'm going to be swan-centric -- with occasional small side projects to work on when I'm traveling, we're camping, or I have a specific gift to finish.

My fellow stitchers have undoubtedly been busier and more productive than I have been; visit their blogs and check out all of their amazing work:

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, LucyAnn, Jess, Sue, Constanze, Debbierose, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Steph, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Hayley, Megan, Catherine, Deborah, Connie,  Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, and Sharon.